The Federal Drive with Terry Gerton

Today on the Federal Drive with Tom Temin

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Defense Department told its civilian workforce to respond to that controversial what you did last week email. Secretary Pete Hegseth called it a pulse check so the originators could see if there's someone at the other end of that request. That didn't stop mounting concerns over data security, how the information will be used, and conflicts of interest. Federal News Network's Anastasia Obis has the latest.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Few events raise the hackles of believers in good government more than the biannual list of high-risk federal programs. Compiled by the Government Accountability Office, it details where the government is bleeding the most money and where it's in danger of operational failure. For his perspective on the high risk list, I spoke at length with GAO's chief, Comptroller General Gene Dodaro. We started with how many of these reports he's overseen.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Just before it left office, the Biden administration proposed new guidelines for licensing inventions funded by the National Science Foundation. My next guest says the proposed rules exceed the NSF's authority. And that they thicken bureaucracy and micromanage the whole thing. Joe Allen is executive director of the Bayh-Dole Coalition, and he joins me now.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Some federal business is going on normally. For instance, the Army is working hard at building its edge computing so it matches a target architecture put out by the Defense Department that calls for 91 specific capabilities in cyber. The army is at work on 58 of them for the moment. Federal News Network's Jason Miller got more from the director of the Army's functional management office for zero trust, Chief Warrant Officer for Ben Koontz.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The IRS has called for nearly all of its employees to return to their offices next week. In some cases, there won't be enough office space for everybody, so management tells employees to get creative with the space they do have. This as the IRS, like nearly every other agency, is also shedding office space. Federal News Network's Jory Heckman has the latest

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Just what do you get if you're caught up in a reduction in force? And what about if you decide to retire early? Federal retirement expert Tammy Flanagan has been getting lots of these questions lately. She joins me now with a few answers.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Federal employees and retirees might be used to the options they can get through the federal employee dental health and vision insurance program, but it hasn't always been that way. It was back in 2006 that federal employees first got access to much broader dental and vision coverage through that program. Here with a review and as part of our 25th anniversary look back, Federal News Network's Drew Friedman.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A one-time Justice Department prosecutor who also served at the state level, is now in private consulting. To help find people for his own, and for his clients' talent pipelines, he's maintains a database of former federal experts in a number of professions. You might even want to be on it. Brian Levine joins me now in studio.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Career federal managers have been asking themselves, how the heck can I operate in the chaotic environment of DOGE? And if I throw out diversity, equity and inclusion, how can I make sure I'm not running afoul of equal employment opportunity rules. We get some answers from my next guest. He's a former EEOC trial attorney and founder of Employment Learning Innovations, Stephen Paskoff.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.